The current South Asian conflict between India and
Pakistan must find a lasting solution for stability in the region. There
are no winners in a stand-off, only losers. And the losers will yet again
be the minorities on both sides - the poor, dependant and religious minorities.
A spirit of negotiation and level-headedness on both sides is required.
It is essential for this situation that has lasted for some 50 years be
resolved if both nations are to move forward. Failure to do so will result
in an unbearable millstone around the region's neck.

The dispute over Kashmir goes back to the time of partition between India
and Pakistan in 1947. The princely state of Kashmir had a majority Muslim
population but a Hindu ruler (the Maharaja), who was unable to decide
whether his state should accede to the new nations of India or Pakistan.
While he was dithering, guerrilla fighters crossed the border from the
Pakistan side. He requested help from India and also agreed to the accession
of Kashmir to India. Indian forces were airlifted in but what was expected
to be a swift campaign turned into a prolonged war which ended only with
a United Nations sponsored cease-fire on 1st January 1949.

Neither India nor Pakistan was willing to give up its claims and the stalemate
has continued for over 50 years, with two of India and Pakistan's three
wars (1947-49, 1965, 1961) being fought over Kashmir. In 2000 a limited
war was fought over Kargil, a point on the line of control between the
two countries. There have been three United Nations commissions and a
number of UN resolutions. India and Pakistan have also signed bilateral
agreements regarding Kashmir but have been unable to solve the conflict.

The dispute is not just between the two countries. The people of Kashmir
are the third party in the struggle. Since the original instrument of
accession, Kashmir has had a special status (enshrined in article 370
of the Constitution of India) and the expectation of many has been a preference
for independence from either country. This certainly became the desire
of Sheikh Abdullah, the first Chief Minister of the state, although he
had worked closely with Prime Minister Nehru in the early days.

In practice the former state of Kashmir has been partitioned for the last
50 years, with the Indian side containing three distinct regions - the
Veil of Kashmir, the capital at Srinagar, the lower lying Jammu, which
used to contain more Hindus and the mountainous Ladakh, with its Tibetan
Buddhist population. The Pakistan side of the line of control contains
a strip of land from Mirpur in the South Western corner up to the beautiful
mountain region of Gilget in the North West. The populations of all these
regions have shifted over the years, with ethnic cleansing on both sides.
The number of those killed or made homeless over the years run into many
thousands. Here in the UK, the majority of British people of Pakistani
origin are in fact from Mirpur in Kashmir.

As the violence continues and threatens to escalate into another major
war what are the options?

The whole of Kashmir should belong
to India or to Pakistan
- Clearly both sides would like this but neither is willing to give
in to the other.

Kashmir should be allowed to become
an independent state.
- This is the wish of many Kashmiris but it is viable given the geopolitical
realities? Among Kashmiris opinions differ, ranging from those who use
violence and terror as their weapons to the moderates who want independence
but through political process, to those who just want peace and would
be happy to remain part of either India or Pakistan.

Kashmir should be partitioned along
the line of control, given legal recognition to what has been the reality
of many years.
- This would require substantial compromise from both sides and a willingness
to back down from the rhetoric of the past and present.

Anybody offering a quick solution to
the Kashmir problem is clearly out of touch with reality. Comparisons
with Northern Ireland tell us that disputes like these can not be solved
without the willingness to compromise, to accept reality, to agree to
forget the past. Combining peace and justice, truth and reconciliation
have to be the ideal but it is very
difficult on the ground to include them all.

The
struggle over Kashmir reflects a broader struggle between different visions
of nation building. The vision of a theocratic state that was part of
the founding of Pakistan has generated extremists for an Islamic nation.
They have been matched by those equally extreme for a Hindu nation which
rejects the vision of a state where people of all religious and cultural
backgrounds are equally accepted, for one that looks back to dreams of
Hindu culture and glory as the basis of a Hindu nation. This extremism,
from both sides, brings fanaticism and violence in place of reason and
tolerance. The evidence can be seen in both countries, with the unremitting
pressure on minorities in Pakistan, where non-Muslims are considered second
class by many; and the growing violence between Hindu extremists and people
of other backgrounds. The continuing killing and destruction of property
in Gujarat is an ominous sign of this tendency. What is more worrying
is that more and more people seem to accept that violence in inevitable.

In
this context, a number of related responses are in the pipeline:

-
the forthcoming conference on Human Rights and Minorities in India (London-August
15)
- the book Changing India by Robin Thomson

The
most critical issue in the current crisis is what do Kashmiris want in
this situation? According to a Mori poll (May 31st), the vast majority
(76%) oppose India and Pakistan going to war, 86% want free and fair elections
to elect the people's representatives, a similar percentage an end to
militant violence and 93% increased economic development of the region
to reduce poverty and provide more jobs.

Surely, as overseas South Asians, we should be supporting
the Kashmiris to achieve these aims. India, Pakistan and foreign governments
should strive to do whatever it takes to tackle these underlying causes
if there is to be lasting peace in the region, which would be in the interests
of all concerned: Kashmir, India, Pakistan and the world at large. Nothing
less than that will be an answer to our prayers.
Deepak Mahtani
International Director